Lidey's Table: Salted Malt Caramel Sauce Upgrades Your Sundae Bar

I thought I was a solid—if a bit inexperienced—cook when I put on my apron for the first time in Ina Garten's barn. We were making banana-chocolate coffee cake, and one of my jobs was to mash the banana. I put the banana into a bowl and proceeded to chase it around with the back of a spoon, the banana sliding all over the place. Ina came over and showed me that if you put the banana on a cutting board and mash it with a fork instead, that banana will be history in no time. Sounds simple, and it was—a simple change that made a huge difference.

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In the two years since, I've learned much more in Ina's kitchen—she's imparted wisdom in everything, be it arranging flowers or carving a chicken. I've grabbed some great tips and tricks that make entertaining simple, stress-free, and most importantly, fun! I can't wait to share them with you here.

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When I was a kid, one of the great highlights of my summers was our annual ice cream social. There was something magical about piling on as much ice cream and as many toppings as your 10-year-old eyes could imagine. The aftermath of these sundaes usually included sticky hands, Oreo crumbs all over the place, and a stomach ache on the car ride home, but the true memory remains: absolute bliss in the face of a massive ice cream sundae.

Louisa Cannell

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I hosted a big cookout for about twenty friends who were in town for the Fourth of July and thought it would be the perfect occasion to bring the old sundae bar back to life. But as much as I used to love gummy worms with my ice cream, I wanted to include a few more 'grownup' toppings this time around. Along with the requisite hot fudge, rainbow sprinkles, and maraschino cherries, I roasted and salted some peanuts for a nice crunch. (I think this is worth doing—pre-chopped peanuts tend to be on the stale-and-flavorless side of the spectrum.)

Louisa Cannell

And then, the pièce de résistance–Salted Malt Caramel Sauce. It's like caramel meets malted milk ball. Salted caramel has become ubiquitous, but malted milk powder gives this sauce a distinct and delicious nuttiness. If you've never made homemade caramel before, you won't believe how quickly and easily it comes together. It's the only real cooking involved in this entire dessert, and the saltiness of the caramel elevates these sundaes just enough. The sundae bar is never going to win any beauty awards, as things tend to get messy, but that's all part of the fun.

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Louisa Cannell

Ina told me that during her catering days, she once did a party where she served an assortment of more formal, traditional desserts, and the host decided at the last minute to set up a sundae bar as a bonus.

You won't be surprised to learn that everyone went right for the ice cream. There's something about ice cream that brings out the kid in all of us, and it's fun to serve a hands-on dessert that gets everyone involved.

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Louisa Cannell

A sundae bar is also a great dessert for a crowd—you can assemble the different components ahead of time and then all you have to do is heat up the caramel and hot fudge, take the ice cream out of the freezer, and set everything up on a table. One aesthetic tip for arranging the sundae bar—use white bowls for the toppings so each one really pops. Ina has showed me the magic of using white serving dishes and platters—the uniformity makes for an elegant presentation, and your eye goes straight to the food, not to the plate.

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Louisa Cannell

I bought a bunch of classic ice cream flavors—vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, coffee and mint chip, but choose your favorites. And if you want gummy worms (or crushed Oreos, or marshmallow fluff, or giant mounds of cookie dough) on your ice cream, go for it—just don't forget the whipped cream. I usually prefer freshly whipped cream to the canned stuff, but this is one instance where Reddi-Whip is king. (Just keep an eye on the cans and the friends a couple drinks deep: Whipped cream fights are fun to have, not fun to clean.)

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